We had just purchased a 14 – 24 2.8f Nikkor for our full frame digital Nikon D3, and had been waiting for a clear day with pretty skies and some snow. Fortunately, it came on a weekend, Saturday, February 16th. We were wanting to photograph some Indianapolis downtown scenes. As it turned out we spent our time around the Indiana State House and the Indianapolis Circle. Kathy concentrated on the Circle, shooting her Nikon D300 with an 18 – 200 3.5f Nikkor. What a fantastic walk-about lens. She bagged herself a image using a very evocative portion of the Indianapolis Circle to frame the the Indiana State House dome. Also, note the beautifully displayed unfurled flag. She titled her image “Staying Vigilant”. Clearly an image full of symbolism. Kudos to Kathy. I found myself intrigued by the Indiana State House and how my new ultra-wide might handle it. It worked perfectly, seeing the entire Indianapolis Statehouse rather then having to stitch panned images together. It did one of two things its does well, getting as much into the picture by having a wide angle of view. Nothing breathtaking, but the ultra-wide lens allowed me to be close enough to see the entire breadth of the State House without the buildings on each side of me blocking my view. I mention two things an ultra-wide lens does well. To me, the more exciting use of a lens like that is moving “ultra-close” to your point of interest and getting a wonderful, weird perspective. The key is being extremely close to your subject. In the case of the posted image “Man with a Purpose” I was three feet away from the base of the statue. Amazing! I think that perspective made possible with that lens creates a very dramatic exciting image. What do you think?

Well, We spent two hour shooting, hit Giorgio’s on the Circle for a fantastic calzone, Starbuck’s for a cup of java and homeward bound. What a great morning of shooting. Now off to our digital darkroom. Be well, everyone.